Adjustable wrench



Aug. 11, 1942.

W. ,G. HUFFMAN ADJUSTABLE WRENCH Filed Oct. 21., 1940 Patented Aug. 11, 1942 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2,293,002 ADJUSTABLE WRENCH Weldon G. Huifman, Chicago, Ill.

Application October 21, 1940, Serial No. 362,136

4 Claims.

My invention relates to adjustable Wrenches, and my main object is to provide a wrench of this type which departs from the heavy or clumsy varieties of adjustable wrenches generally used.

A further object of the invention is to provide a wrench which is light, easily set, and which maintains its hold at all times, and retains exact adjustment until reset.

Another object of the invention is to provide a wrench of the above character which is made with few and simple parts and can therefore be manufactured at low cost.

With the above objects in view and any others which may suggest themselves from the description to follow, a better understanding of the in vention may be had by reference to the accompanying drawing, in which- Fig. 1 is an elevation of one form of the invention;

Fig. 2 is an elevation of a modification of one of the wrench jaws, partly broken away;

Fig. 3 is an elevation of a modified jaw assemly;

Figs. 4, and 6 are, respectively, enlarged sections on the lines 4+4, 5-5 and 66 of Fig. 1;

Fig. '7 is a section on the line 'l'! of Fig. 6; and

Fig. 8 is an elevation of a further modification.

Adjustable wrenches may be found in the ligh er or heavier forms, but in either case they may be irregular in shape or clumsy to handle; also, they soon develop looseness in the movable jaw, so that the jaws of the wrench do not maintain their hold as adjusted. I have therefore endeavored to depart from these deficiencies by designing a wrench which appears more like a pair of pliers and isbalanced in its hold upon the work, whereby to be uniformly adjusted thereon.

In accordance with the foregoing, the novel wrench may be primarily considered as an assembly of two identical units in opposed relation. Each of these units comprises a body member it having a diverging shank H at one end and a departin handle l2 at the other. The shanks ll terminate with jaws I3 whose inner faces l4 are parallel for the engagement of the work.

The shanks II are slightly out down from the jaws l3 and the body members It as indicated at [5 to be somewhat thinner and define end stops for an elongated band l6 within the end portions of which the shanks H are disposed. The band It is intended to be slidable along the shanks and act as a cam when advanced to gather the same. For this purpose the shanks are convexed in cross-section as indicated in Fig. 4, and receive correspondingly shaped formations Ilia of the band, which procure the uniform spreading of the jaws when the band is drawn back along the shanks H and the uniform gathering of the jaws when the band is advanced.

When the jaws are applied to the work, it is their purpose to become locked in the gripping position, and for this reason both the shanks II and the ends of the bands, inside, are formed with meshing ratchet teeth 11 by means of which the jaws are automatically set at the position to which the band is advanced. The band formatrons 16a are somewhat Wider and more spacious in inward direction so as to allow the shanks inward clearance to unmesh the teeth I! and permit the band to slide.

The means of spreading the shanks II is in the form of a pairof bow springs l8 which gather rearwardly to be alined by ariveted or otherwise secured band clip I9, then spreading somewhat to terminate along the inner sides of the body members [0 with hooks 20 seatin in notches 2| made in such sides. Also, the springs are extended at the sides with clips 2 la which have inward bends -2lb lodged in side cavities 2lc made in the body members. It is the purpose of the hooks 29 to fix the longitudinal positions of the springs l8 identically in relation to the body members I0; and the fastening of the springs at l9 enables the hooks 29 to maintain the longitudinal registration of the two major wrench units. The clips 2 la firmly secure the springs to the related shanks.

With the wrench applicable as previously described, it is conceivable that the jaws [3 may be gathered to the size of the work and automatically set, the springs l8 and the band l6 maintaining the components of the wrench together and enabling the latter to be handled as a unit for the rotation of the work.

Adjustment is made by applying pressure to the shanks II against the tension of the bow springs I8, this permitting the band I6 to be retracted or slid forward along the ratchet teeth. Or, square teeth may be employed as a modification, as shown in Fig. 2. It is however necessary, in order to keep the jaw faces l4 parallel, to lock the divergent handles l2 at the desired size of openin indicated by graduation marks I la on the shanks ll. For this purpose the handles l2 also receive a band 22 similar to the band l6, and which is effective to spread and gather the handles l2. The band 22 can be locked at any desired spread by crossed double pointed pawls 23 attached to the band 22 by a common pivot 24,

such pawls cooperating with isosceles tooth racks 25 when the band 22 is moved in either direction.

The pawls 23 may be locked at any desired point of engagement with the tooth racks by a separating clip '25 before the wrench is put into use. The clip 2'6 is applied across the front of the band 22, having one end passing freely through a slot 22a: in one of the band walls to terminate with an enlargement 21, thus forming a hinge; and the other end of the clip is made ing the hook 28 from the slot 29 to release the pawls.

The modification of Fig. 3 shows an adaptation of the band 22 and its pawls 23 to the jaw shanks of the wrench. These may be made with tooth racks l lb similar to the tooth racks 25 (or ratchet teeth similar to teeth l1 in Fig. 1). The object of this modification is to dispense with the spring [8, to meet possible demand. Also, a separating locking device on the order of the clip 26 of Fig. 1, may be applied to this modification. Of course, a spring or other suitable separating device may be employed in either case if desired.

The modification of Fig. 8 utilizes the original principle at both ends of the wrench, the object being to make the wrench cover a greater range of sizes, that is, a broader use. In this form two single-ended pawls 30 are provided, these being pivoted at their sources from their respective body members 3|, as indicated at 32. The pawls are also pivoted at an intermediate point to each other as indicated at 33. It is my object to adjust the pawls into and out of engagement with tooth racks 34 in the inner faces of the body members 3|, so that these may be released when either of the terminal bands [6 are applied to the jaw shanks II and then locked when the wrench is to be fixed. The pawls 33 are pivoted directly from the respective members 3| because a band is unnecessary. The unit so formed serves the same essential purpose as the pawls 23 in Fig. 1, that is, to adjust the jaw faces 14 to parallel positions and maintain longitudinal relationship of the body members 3|. The pawls 30 are made with longitudinal, intersecting slots 35 and 36 which receive a headed friction rivet 37. Thus, a slight forward push of the rivet, that is, toward the pawl points, serves to gather the pawls and withdraw them from the teeth 34. Then, when the jaws are adjusted to the desired work size, the rivet 33 is pulled back, causing the points of the pawls to become seated in tooth racks 34, at which time friction rivet 31 may have reached the corresponding end portions of the slots 35 and 36.

It will be evident from the above description that I have provided a wrench which is as handy as a pair of pliers yet may be quickly adjusted to the size of the work and locked to the adjusted setting. Thus, when a nut whose size is unknown is to be engaged, the jaws are applied to the nut after the bands [6 and 22 have been placed in retracted position, that is, toward the center of the wrench. Now the band [6 is advanced until the jaws engage the work, after which the band 22 is advanced in rearward direction to bind the handles l2. At this time it may be possible to advance either band another notch or two to the point of imposing a substantial grip on the work Now the clip 26 is closed and the wrench is set. The wrench requires only the loosening of its pawls to enable it to be drawn off the work, when it can be re-adjusted to different sized work. Further, the wrench is largely made from pairs of identical parts which are simple and easily assembled, rendering the cost of producing the wrench as low as may be consistent with precision and quality. Finally, the novel wrench is an article which can be easily mastered by any one who is handy with light wrenches or pliers.

While I have described the main embodiment and modifications along specific lines, various minor changes and refinements may be made without departing from their principles, and I desire to consider all such changes and refinements as coming within the scope and spirit of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A wrench comprising a pair of opposed body members, extensions of these in one direction to form jaws and in the other direction to form handles, and means for adjusting the body members to vary the spacing of the jaws and maintain them in parallelism, and other means to resist the contraction of the jaws, such other means comprising a pair of joined springs directed forwardly from a point between the body members to separate and bear outwardly on the respective jaw-forming extensions, the springs having rearward continuations anchored into the respective body members to lock them against relative 1ongitudinal motion.

2. A wrench comprising a pair of opposed body members, extensions of these in forward direction to form jaws, extensions of the body members in rearward direction to form handles, means in the zone of the forward extensions to adjust the spacing of the jaws, and a mechanism in the zone of the handles to adjust the spacing thereof, said mechanism comprising a band to limit the spread of the handles, the latter having rows of teeth along their inner surfaces, and a pair of double-pointed pawls centered in the band at a point midway between the handles, said pawls being rockable to engage the teeth of the respective handles and lock the latter in the spread position.

3. A wrench comprising a pair of opposed body members, extensions of these in forward direction to form jaws, extensions of the body members in rearward direction to form handles, means in the zone of the forward extensions to adjust the spacing of the jaws, and a mechanism in the zone of the handles to adjust the spacing thereof, said mechanism comprising a band to limit the spread of the handles, the latter having rows of teeth along their inner surfaces, a pair of doublepointed pawls centered in the band at a point midway between the handles, said pawls being rockable to engage the teeth of the respective handles and lock the latter in the spread position, and means to lock the pawls in the rocked position.

4. A wrench comprising a pair of opposed body members, extensions of these in forward direction to form jaws, extensions of the body members in rearward direction to form handles, means in the zone of the forward extensions to adjust the spacing of the jaws, and a mechanism in the zone of the handles to adjust the spacing thereof, said mechanism comprising a band to limit the spread of the handles, the latter having rows of teeth along their inner surfaces, a pair of doublepointed pawls centered in the band at a point midway between the handles, said pawls being rockable to engage the teeth of the respective handles and lock the latter in the spread position, and a clip swingable from one wall of the band to close with the other wall thereof at a point between the pawls, whereby to lock the same in th spread position.

WELDON G. HUFFMAN. 

